Sr. For in the SPIRIT here I say I'm come, And you may find ME in the WOMAN'S FORM." "And now, in the WOMAN'S FORM the CHILD is concealed from all, that they will surely find will appear to mankind. So now let men trace thy writings through: the First and Second Book of Sealed Prophecies; the Eight Books of Strange Effects of Faith; they will find how all is foretold, that now will open like a flower in its bud. And now I ask mankind, how they will appear, with assurance and confidence, to place all these things together, and say it was brought round by the foreknowledge, wisdom, and power of the devil? Good Friday, April 8th, 1814. I was meditating on the Gospel throughout, and saw that it was impossible for the preachers to prove the Gospel true, in the way they are explaining it. For they are doing by the Gospel, as I did, in my childish years, by a bed of carnations, which I had sown in the garden. When they came to the bud, being curious to know whether they were red or white, I pinched off the top of a bud from every stalk, as I simply thought they would grow out again like the rest; but when the time came for the flowers to open, I saw the beauty of the flowers that I had not meddled with open to perfection; but those flowers, which my curiosity had made me open before the time, were withered, and did not come to any perfection; and then I saw my own folly. To my pondering thoughts I was answered as follows: "It was I that called this to thy remembrance, to shew the people, that in thy likeness stand mankind; for like thy folly, by the flowers, before the full time was come for them to open of theirselves, perfectly so have men done by the Scriptures: they have picked off the top and spoiled the beauty of the Gospel, before the full time is come for the Scriptures to open of theirselves the curiosity of men hath caused them to dive into things they did not understand. But know, when thou pickedst off the top of the bud, thou couldest but discern the colour of the flower; because the beauty was concealed, till the time came of its being full blown of itself; now perfectly so stands my Gospel: they have picked it, and chopped it, like thy flowers, which thou sayest thou spoiledst the beauty of: when thou sawest the others appear in their full bloom, those thou hadst picked came to no perfection. And this is the perfect likeness of professors of religion: they have picked away all the beauty of the Gospel, all the beauty of the Prophets, and my Disciples; and made the Gospel appear with no more beauty in it, than there was in the flowers, which thou hadst spoiled, by thy eager desire to know the colour, before the full time was come to discover theirselves. And now I tell thee, men of wisdom, understanding, and prudence, who are endowed with good hearts, will as clearly see their folly, in the manner they have picked the Bible and the Gospel, to destroy the beauty thereof; when they see the full blown flowers appear, for all my Gospel to open before them in all its truth, beauty, and splendour; then they will see their folly as clearly as thou sawest thine, when I throw open the whole before their view; and they find, that the SoN is born to be the woMAN'S CONQUERING SEED. For know, I said, when man fell, it was the SEED of the WOMAN should bruise the serpent's head; but had I been the SEED of the WOMAN, I could not have been the Son of GOD, to say I was before the world began: had I been made of the WOMAN; then it was HER NATURE I must have taken upon ME, in the likeness of the sons of men. Therefore men do not understand the full meaning of the Scriptures, any more than thou understoodest what colours thy flowers were of, when the buds appeared, from the seed that was sown; and therefore in thy folly do men go on, without discerning that I came to die for the transgression of the fall. "As the man cast his blame on ME: I ask what beauty men can e'er see there? And mark the words from men to thee are come : And from the hand that first did pluck the fruit, And now the season I've said is come; That, like thy flowers, were conceal'd from thee; And know the way I answer'd the Church Prayers." Answer to the Church Prayers, pages 18, 19, printed in 1803. "Then now I'm come, I say, again For to be born anew; And in the SPIRIT to be born, My SPIRIT here doth strong appear, And now I'll tell my every NAME, And of the SPIRIT born; On Satan's head, as I have said, To free you from the LAW; Mark from page 22 to page 38. rance, page 57, given in 1794. Full Assu "No more the INFANT will be had in scorn, "I shall answer thee from the lines which thou hast left out "That as the horses do the harness wear, "Now I shall answer thee from thy thoughts. Thou sayest, by the letters, which have been sent from both Jews and Gentiles, thou hast heard the greatest scorn and contempt from both parties; to such I answer, that I am not come to those who do not come to ME; neither is the CHILD born for them that do not gladly receive him. Because I have made this clearer to mankind than ever I made things before, either by the Prophets or in my Gospel; and yet they may see it all foretold throughout the Prophets and throughout the Gospel; and if they search thy writings through, they will find, from ninety-two to this day, here a little and there a little. I have warned thee of it, so that the noon-day sun cannot be plainer, to shew the power of your Creator, than this is to shew the power and wisdom of a God, to make it clear to mankind that this is the PRINCE of PEACE, spoken of through the Scriptures. And they that reject him, I shall reject them; so that He is neither born in them, nor for them.. But now see the raptures of joy in believers, where by faith HE is born in them; how eager are they longing for the day to behold the heavenly stranger! So HE will not be born in a stable, laid in swaddling clothes in a manger; but thou knowest, already what robes are prepared for the CHILD: and as I have told thee HE |